Improvement in leather tips for boots and shoes



Patented Aug-10,1875.

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,NETER5;PHOTO-LITMOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON n UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

ALBERT VAN WAGENEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN LEATHER TIPS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,65 8, dated August 10., 1875; application tiled J une 26, 1875.

CASE A.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT VAN WAGENEN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather Tips for Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

For a number of years boot and shoe manufacturers have used formed tips made of different kinds of materials and of a variety of shapes, all of which are covered by a patent for formed tips, and, therefore, I do not claim broadly the tip itself, but only my peculiar and improved tip, and the method of producing the same.

It is well known that for coarse boots and shoes the only reliable protection against wear is metal or india-rubber, but for fine shoes other substances less durable, and even leather itself, may be made to afford a comparatively reliable protection. i

To combine cheapness in the manufacture of such tip and sufficient strength to retain its position close around the upper, and not recede from it when wet, either by stretching and becoming loose or settling down and leaving the upper exposed to wear and the collection of dirt between the upper and the tip, is the object of my invention.

The base of the tip may be the size of the tip itself, or a tap-sole, or the outer sole itself. This portion of the tip may be of quite an inferior quality of leather when it forms simply the base of the tip, and not the outer sole--in fact, from the refuse leather which is found in large quantities in almost every shoe-shop, and is usually used for fuel. To this base the tip proper is secured by means of stitches, and it is raised from its natural or flat position close to the base toform, after being stitched, the projecting edge e, to protect the upper, such projection e being made in elevating the rear edge of the flat piece of leather so stitched to the base (its natural position being to lay flat on the base) to any angle desired, thereby forming a leather tip having the capacity to afford the required degree of protection to the upper. By this construction a projecting edge is formed beyond the line of stitches, outward, which projection protects the stitches from wear, and forms, with the sole of the boot and shoe, a neat finish. When it is desired, however, the tip may be trimmed close up to the stitches without injuring its durability. A distinguishing feature of my invention consists of a tip built up from a blank formed of two pieces of leather united together in the same plane, one of which is afterward raised to form the protection, while the method of raising the top-piece determines its line of projection by that which unites the two pieces, and gives a tension all the time inward to keep the built-up piece snug against the up a section of the same; Fig. 5, a view showing the tip partly formed and the stitches concealed and Fig. 6, a section thereof.

This tip is formed from two flat pieces of leather, a b, shaped to conform to the toe-edges of a boot or shoe, and united together at or near their edges, leaving the-back, or inner back, edge of the upper piece unattached. The tip portion a is shaped, preferably, like a crescent, and when so shaped will require but little trimming when elevated to its proper position by pressure or dies to give it a neat and suitable shape. These two pieces of leather may be stitched together through the entire thickness, or partly so. When stitched through the entire thickness the stitches form what is usually termed an imitation fair stitch, and when my tip-is formed on the tapsole, or outer sole, the line of stitching may continue along the side of the sole to the shank. When it is desired to conceal the stitches entirely from sight the tip is turned up on the tip portion before sewing and turned down after, and by this means hiding the stitching entirely. In making this tip it is desirable to use solid and durable leather for the raised portion, and as only a very small piece is required such leather can be used that would otherwise be thrown away.

The material composing this tip costs, as it were, nothing, the only cost of tip being the labor in producing it.

I prefer skiving the tip portion so as to leave the greatest thickness nearest the stitching, to give strength and solidity to the tip.

The most important feature in this method of constructing a tip is that the tip is raised from its first or flat position by pressure or dies, and as the tendency of the raised part is always to resume its original position, the upper leather at the toe of the boot and shoe takes the place of the former or die used to raise it from its position in arresting this tendency, and holds it elevated and prevents it from coming back, while, if bent to the position required by any other means, the tendency would be to fall away from the toe instead of drawing closer to it, as is the fact in this case.

The height of the tip, its thickness, and its general form, can be varied to suit various styles of work for which the tip is required. To give greater solidity and uniformity to the tip I use dies of suitable shape and construction by which to accomplish this object.

The stitches may be concealed or hid by splitting the edge of the leather, turning up the top split part c, and, after sewing through the lower split part 0 the upper part 0 is then cemented down over the stitches to make the tip perfect and render the front edge solid. In Fig. 5 a portion of the split part is shown as being turned up to expose the uniting stitches. The upper :10 is secured in the usual manner to receive the tip, which, being raised from a flat piece from the natural position, I

obtain thereby a tension all the time, and

' combination of the two separate pieces a and b, formed into the tip, and in which the basepiece I) is inserted between the out-sole s and the upper 00, and the raised piece a is in line with the front edge of the sole.

A very material advantage resulting from this two-ply formed tip is, that the protection part a can be made of upper leather, and of different colors corresponding with the upper, which is a matter of much importance in the trade.

I do not claim broadly a tip for boots and shoes built up of two distinct pieces of leather, as I am aware that such is not original with me, but limit-myself to the tip constructed substantially as herein set forth.

I claim- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a leather shoe-tip composed of two pieces of leather, united at or near their edges by stitches going through the whole or part of the two thicknesses of leather, one of these pieces of leather being raised from a horizontal position to any angle desired, thereby forming a tip to protect the upper.

2. The mode of constructing tips for boots and shoes, consisting in first uniting two pieces of leather by a line of stitches, and afterward raising and fixing the upper piece to the required angle to form a protector, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT VAN WAGENEN.

Witnesses:

A. W. ADAMS, J. H. OoLLIER, Jr. 

